Friday, December 12, 2014

A 33-year-old man died in a motorcycle accident in Lubbock, Texas on Friday. The body of Willie Lee Kelso was found around 7:30am on northbound Interstate 27. It is believed that Kelso was driving in dense fog at the time. Willie's motorcycle wrecked into Sysco Food in the 200 block of I-27. Willie Kelso was driving a 2012 Harley Davidson bike.

A 17-year-old young woman from Marshall, Texas died in a one vehicle wreck yesterday. Colby Vernon passed away around 1:00pm when the vehicle she was driving left the roadway and hit a tree in the 3800 block of Rosborough. Colby was taken to a local hospital where she was pronounced dead a short time after arrival. An autopsy was ordered on Vernon's body.

A young man from Odessa Texas lost his life yesterday while street racing. 22-year-old Zach Landry was pronounced dead at the intersection of 42nd Street and McKnight Drive after colliding with a Ford Expedition. 21-year-old Riley Porter, was arrested and charged with street racing. Odessa police told reporters that street racing is a big problem in the city.

There was a fire in one of the tallest buildings in downtown Dallas on Thursday. After the flames were extinguished, three construction workers were found dead in the basement. Over 2800 workers inside the building were evacuated by the Dallas Fire Department. Late Thursday, all the bodies of the three victims had still not been recovered. The cause of the blaze was likely a short in electrical wiring.

Thursday, December 11, 2014

I just finished reading a great story on the WFAA-TV website about Nina Pham. You might remember her as one of the Fort Worth, Texas nurses who was infected with Ebola after caring for a patient at her hospital. Pham, along with other doctors and medical professionals, were selected jointly as the 'Person of the Year' by Time Magazine in 2014. Click the WFAA.com link below to read more about this remarkable woman.

Early this week I posted a picture of downtown Dallas that was taken from an airplane on Monday morning during a fog event. While that picture was pretty cool, the one above showing a closer view of what that fog looked like from the top of the Bank of America building in downtown is even better. While it is not unusual for the DFW area to get fogged in from time to time, on Monday there were some really cool pictures taken while it was happening.

Growing up back in the 1960's I never envisioned the changes that have taken place in windmills in Texas. In the picture above it's easy to see why our grandchildren will have a different image in their heads of what a windmill is in the future. I grew up in rural West Texas and the only windmills we saw back then were the old fashion type. I must admit though those huge new windmills that produce electricity are pretty cool to look at too.

Wednesday, December 10, 2014

The State of Texas is filled with hundreds of small, medium and large lakes. The one pictured above is Lake Scarborough located south of Abilene and Northeast of San Angelo. Like many others, I find it peaceful watching the sunset while sitting near the shorelines of Texas lakes. I've never been to Lake Scarborough, but I should put it on my list of places to visit.

I just checked the current weather conditions on South Padre Island, Texas. It's 72 degrees under cloudy skies. Maybe a bit too cold to go swimming in the Gulf of Mexico today, but a nice long walk on the beach would feel wonderful. Hundreds of thousands of people from all over the world have visited South Padre Island over the years and most of them come back often.

The next time someone tells you that Texas is not a pretty state, just show them this picture of 'balanced rocks' in the Guadalupe Mountains National Park. Whether you enjoy mountains, lakes, desert or ocean – The State of Texas has them all and in abundance. The Big Bend area of Texas is one of the most beautiful places on Earth.

Already tens of thousands of Texans have visited the San Antonio River Walk area which is currently decorated for the Christmas holiday season. I visited there many years ago and have never forgotten the experience. Even though the year I went to San Antonio for the holiday's was terribly cold, I still enjoyed seeing the lights and eating some really good food. In my opinion, the downtown section of the 'Alamo City' is one of the best places to visit during Christmas and New Year as well.

Tuesday, December 9, 2014

The folks with the Mega Millions Lottery are search for the likely Texan who bought a ticket that paid one millions dollars in the June 17th, 2014 drawing. The person who purchased the winning ticket must show up to claim their prize by December 14th, 2014. The winning ticket was sold at Seller Brothers located in the 200 block of Preston in Pasadena, Texas. So, check your Mega Millions tickets and ask your friends and family to do the same before it is too late.

The State of Texas is filled with historic courthouses and one of the most beautiful is located in Decatur. The Wise County Courthouse above was completed in January of 1897. Two colors of granite rock were used in it's construction. While the exterior of the building is pretty much the same as when it was built, the inside of the Wise County Courthouse was remodeled in 1960. The building was designed by J. Riely Gordon.

This morning a thick blanket of fog covered the Dallas Fort Worth Metroplex. During that time, a passenger on-board a jet flying into DFW Airport snapped this picture from the window of the aircraft he was traveling on. If you look closely at this picture, you can see the very top of the tallest buildings in Dallas and near the middle right of this image you can see the very top of the Reunion Tower.

I remember when I was young traveling to Big Bend on a mission trip to assist people in Mexico. We camped out in a National Park and went back and forth between Texas and Mexico each day on a small boat that was pulled by men on both sides by a rope. The location where we camped for one week looked very similar to the picture above. While some folks think far West Texas is baron and ugly, to many others like me it is one of the most beautiful places in the world.

One of the best places to visit in Texas is the Guadalupe River near New Braunfels, Gruene, and Canyon Lake. The picture above shows this location, during the late fall, in all it's beauty. If you are traveling on Interstate 35, just exit in New Braunfels and travel west on Highway 46. There are many wonderful things to see on the Guadalupe River and this place is just one of them.

I grew up in the Texas Panhandle where months of drought were always followed by severe thunderstorms and sometimes tornadoes. In the image above, it's clear to see that on October 9th, 2014 it was thunderstorms and not drought that were in full display in Panhandle, Texas not far from Amarillo. The power of 'Mother Nature' has always humbled me, but this image just totally blows my mind.

If you enjoy swimming, tubing, wading and fishing – one of the most beautiful places to go is Pedernales Falls State Park located 10-miles east of Johnson City, Texas. This land was once called the Circle Bar Ranch until it was bought and turned into a state park back in the early 1970's. Along the Pedernales River there are ample locations for fishing, camping and picnicking. There are also 10-miles of equestrian trails and locations for hiking and biking.